Page 28 of Drowning in Darkness

“Er, you aren’t meant to wake them, right?”

“I have no idea, Agent. You’re the psychology expert here.”

Camryn snaps her fingers in front of Stephanie’s face. No reaction. Is this why she wanted a lock on the door? The thought that she doesn’t find me dangerous shouldn’t give me this amount of joy, but alas, here we are.

The front door opens, and Agent Thompson freezes. “What the fuck are you doing?” he growls. He’s moving before we can stop him and lifting Stephanie off my lap with an impressive amount of strength.

Stephanie screams in terror, and she loses her shit. Biting, scratching, kicking the clueless agent as she battles her nightmares.

I leap to my feet and come between them, catching her wrists in a gentle grip. “Eyes on me,” I demand. She calms instantly. It’s creepy.

“James?” she blinks, and her vision focuses on me and not whatever is going on in her head. She’s back.

“Yep, I’m here.”

She shakes her head and grimaces. “I’m sorry. I did it again. I thought I’d stopped. I hope I didn’t do anything embarrassing?”

“Nope. You attacked poor Agent Thompson, but he’ll be fine.”

She angles her head over my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse from my cats.”

“Still not an excuse,” she mumbles.

I silently dare either agent to tell her the extent of what happened. There’s no need for it.

“It’s fine,” he says. “The more important question is who’s up for 3 a.m. pizza?”

Her lips twitch. “I can get behind that.”

Good, she needs to eat something other than junk gas station snacks that are majorly composed of artificial ingredients.

“Pineapple?” he checks.

“Is that even a question?” she asks as I swipe my thumb over her pulse point. She sucks in a breath as I touch the scars that tell the story of her pain and survival. Her mouth pops open as she stares at me in wonder.

That’s right. Every part of you is beautiful.

What I would give to be a different man, one worthy of her. But that’s not the life I’ve been given, so I’ll remain her silent protector.

ELEVEN

STEPHANIE

There are worse things to crave than strawberries. Unfortunately, I can name one.

There’s an odd yet undeniable sense of abandonment when I wake to find James gone. He warned me, but I had convinced myself that the man risking everything to come save me again wouldn’t leave me with strangers.

I’m untethered, adrift, and I have been since I left the institute. The desire to hide inside my brother’s apartment had been overwhelming, but I resisted the urge because that would have been trading one controlled environment for another. Life isn’t about safety nets and carefully put-together itineraries. It’s messy and chaotic, but that’s where you find adventure. It’s what drives passion, something I’ve been missing for most of my adult life. I’m terrified but ready. Fortune favors the brave, or so they say.

“Do you want fruit with your breakfast?” I call out to the two agents in the living room, talking in low voices as they point at a laptop screen turned away from me.

Camryn raises her gaze. She’s pretty, and I didn’t miss the way she tracked James with more than professional interest. I can’t quite put my finger on the emotion. I don’t think it’s attraction, maybe respect?

“I’ll take some fruit with my coffee,” she answers as she nudges Agent Thompson’s arm.

“Yep, my wife will be happy to hear I’m not living off junk food.”